Kara Smyth Photography
Warm, inviting headshots that make actors look approachable and castable
Overview
Kara Smyth produces warm, inviting headshots that make actors look approachable and immediately castable. Her style is friendly and accessible, creating images that draw people in rather than keeping them at arm's length.
Kara's sessions are warm and supportive, with direction that emphasizes comfort and natural expression. She is skilled at putting nervous actors at ease and helping them find their most relaxed, genuine selves.
How It Works
She works with actors across all casting types in New York City, with a particular strength in capturing the warmth needed for commercial and family-friendly casting categories. Her images consistently book callbacks.
Pricing ranges from $300 to $450 per session, with retouched digital images included. Kara's accessible pricing makes her a popular choice among working actors in the city.
Who Uses It
Excellent for actors who need warm, approachable headshots for commercial and theatrical work. Kara's supportive session style and inviting aesthetic make her headshots some of the friendliest in the NYC market.
Pricing & Plans
Kara Smyth's sessions range from $300 to $450, placing her at the accessible end of the NYC headshot market. Her pricing is intentionally affordable to serve the broad community of working actors who need professional-quality headshots without a significant financial burden. Packages include retouched digital images with multiple looks, and her straightforward pricing means no surprise fees for standard retouching or delivery. Kara's rates are particularly competitive for the consistently warm, bookable quality of her images. For actors who are updating headshots on a regular annual or semi-annual cycle, her accessible pricing makes it financially feasible to keep materials fresh and current.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
Kara's defining strength is her ability to make actors look genuinely warm, friendly, and approachable — qualities that are in extremely high demand for commercial, sitcom, and family-friendly casting categories. Her supportive session style creates an environment where actors feel safe and comfortable, which directly translates to natural, relaxed expressions in the final images. She has a keen eye for capturing the likability factor that commercial casting directors prioritize above almost everything else. Her accessible pricing removes financial barriers for actors who need to update their headshots regularly as their look or casting targets evolve. Kara's images consistently lead to callbacks and bookings in the commercial and theatrical markets, which is the ultimate measure of a headshot photographer's effectiveness.
What Could Be Better
Kara's warm, friendly aesthetic may not produce the intensity or dramatic edge that some actors need for roles in thriller, horror, or prestige drama categories. Her focus on approachability can sometimes result in images that feel safe rather than striking, which may not serve actors competing for edgier or more complex roles. Without a prominent online presence, actors outside her existing network may have difficulty finding and evaluating her work before booking. Her supportive, encouraging direction style may not push actors as far outside their comfort zones as some photographers who take a more challenging approach. Actors seeking a high-end, editorial-quality session experience may find her accessible pricing reflects a more streamlined process.
Our Recommendation
Kara Smyth is the ideal photographer for actors whose casting strengths center on warmth, approachability, and likability — if you book primarily in commercial, sitcom, family-friendly, or friendly authority casting categories, her headshots will serve you exceptionally well. She is also an excellent choice for actors who have had stiff or uncomfortable headshot experiences in the past and need a photographer who creates a genuinely supportive environment. Budget-conscious actors who need professional-quality results without premium pricing will find outstanding value in Kara's sessions. Actors who need dramatic, intense, or edgy headshots should consider photographers who specialize in those aesthetics. If you are a serious dramatic actor who wants your headshots to convey gravitas and complexity, a photographer with a more intense directorial approach will serve those goals better.
Pro Tips
Bring wardrobe that you associate with warmth and comfort — Kara's style works best when actors feel genuinely like themselves, so familiar, well-fitting clothes in friendly colors will photograph beautifully. If you book a lot of commercial work, bring at least one outfit that reads as a specific commercial archetype — the friendly neighbor, the young parent, the approachable professional — and discuss these targets with Kara before the session. Arrive well-rested and hydrated, as Kara's bright, warm lighting reveals the difference between refreshed and tired skin more than moodier setups. Ask Kara to capture a few frames with a genuine smile and laugh, as these are often the most commercially effective headshots for the casting categories where her work excels. If you also need a more serious theatrical look alongside your commercial headshots, mention this upfront so Kara can plan the session to accommodate both moods.